Photo Kibitz | Chatting about Photography, Photographers and their Images

Motivating the practical is a lighting term used in the movie industry. Internationally renowned portrait photographer Gregory Heisler defines motivating the practical one step further, his practicals are also the subjects of his iconic photographic portraits, which he brings to life with his technical mastery and innovative visual style.     With the help of Vistek, I had the opportunity to chat with Gregory Heisler before his sold-out Contact Photography Festival lecture in Toronto, Ontario.

When you look at a photograph nicely framed in a home or a gallery, have you ever thought about what goes into creating it? Before there were pixels, memory cards and inkjet printers, photographers processed their film and paper using chemicals in a darkroom. In his exhibition “Icons of Obsolescence”, which was at the National Gallery of Canada, Montreal, photographer Michel Campeau traveled the world and turned on the lights to photograph the magical rooms used to bring photographs to life. In this episode of Photo Kibitz, Michel and I discuss his photographic career, which spans more than 40 years, his exhibition and photography as art.

Are we witnessing the end of an era? Robert Burley, photographer and associate professor with Ryerson University’s School of Imaging Arts, has documented the closing and implosion of Kodak, Ilford, Polaroid and Agfa factories in his exhibition and book, The Disappearance of Darkness. In this episode of Photo Kibitz, Robert and I discuss photography at what could be the end of the analog era.

In theory, photojournalist Fred Chartrand retired from the Canadian Press in February 2008. If you google his name, you will find his CP photo credit attached to current events, which makes me wonder, did he really retire? In this episode of Photo Kibitz, award winning photojournalist Fred Chartrand talks about his "retirement", and his 40+ years of telling stories with his cameras from around the world.

It takes talent to consistently be in the right place at the right time and Lois Siegel has the knack for doing just that. For example, her talent has enabled her to work with legendary Hollywood writer Joe Eszterhas. In this episode of Photo Kibitz we also chatted about her first celebrity portrait, internationally renowned portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh and how she was selected to be one of only 10 photographers to photograph the Rolling Stones' concert in Ottawa. Lois is a filmmaker, casting director, writer, professor, musician and of course a photographer. She has won a Genie award and was named one of Ottawa's top 50 people who are shaping the future of the national capital.

This is a special edition of Photo Kibitz. This episode is an informal conversation between Dave Heath and Michael Schreier.  The movie Blow-up inspired Michael Schreier to pursue a career in photography. However, it was Dave Heath that inspired Michael to understand photography beyond the Hollywood representation. From September 20, to January 26, 2014. The Ottawa Art Gallery presents: Dave Heath: A Heritage of Meaning, An Introspective, which was curated by Michael Schreier. The talk was recorded on September 20th 2013, with a live audience in the main studio of The School of Photographic Arts Ottawa and was introduced by one of the school’s directors, Tony Martins.

What is a photograph? Beyond the halides and pixels which are either exposed or sprayed onto a sheet of paper, have you ever paused for a moment to wonder what is a photograph? Artist, teacher and student Michael Schreier is my guest on this episode of Photo Kibitz. Michael is a former Director of Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa. His work is collected in both public and private institutions, like the National Gallery of Canada, the National Archives and the Canadian Portrait Gallery, to name a few. We spent quite a bit of time chatting about his own work, how he got into photography and his interpretation of what a photograph is.

Wedding photography, it’s an easy business to get into, an expensive business if you are going to properly equip yourself and a very competitive business, because anyone with a good camera thinks they have the right stuff to do it. Wedding photography is also an absolutely rewarding business if you can consistently get “the shot”. In this episode of Photo Kibitz, Melanie Rebane of Melanie Rebane Wedding Photography and Derrick Rice of Union Eleven chat about how they became wedding photographers and some of the issues they have faced. We also talked about the different perspectives and approaches they have in photographing a wedding and running their respective businesses.

For a moment, lets assume you are the photo editor for Ferrari magazine and you need $100 million dollars of Ferrari cars photographed. Who would you call? A wedding photographer? Yes, if that wedding photographer is also award winning news photographer Blair Gable. In this episode of Photo Kibitz, Blair Gable and I chat about the challenges of being a news photographer, balancing family life and some of the lessons he has learned running his photography business.

From the pages of Elle Magazine, the Streets of Tokyo and world leaders in Ottawa, Frédéric Dekkal  was inspired by the documentary style of street photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau and others from his native France. Frédéric and I chat about how he got started in photography, his training at the Verdier Centre, doing street photography in Paris, and his current personal work shot in Tokyo.

Like a feather fluttering in the wind, life as you know it can change with a cross breeze. There were times when Azimir Burzic wished he could delete the images caught with his eyes. Today, twenty years later and thousands of miles away from his native Bosnia, I chatted with Azimir Burzic about the moments he now captures with his paint brush and his camera.

For retirement, some people might be drawn to swinging a golf club or volunteering. This episode’s guest picked-up a camera and started her next chapter in life as a fine art photographer. Drawn to iconic structures associated with major events of the last century, award winning photographer Leslie Hossack plans, prepares and has passion for taking pictures of public spaces, changing communities and familiar items from previous generations.

Generally, photographers can be divided into two camps. Those that strive to get it right in-camera and those that will shoot anything, then fix it in Photoshop later. Rarely shall the two meet. But when they do, magic happens.  I am calling today's guest Mr Post, because he is extremely talented in post processing and he is also a very skilled photographer who is able to capture his vision in camera too. As a successful commercial photographer, Richard Desmarais has shot for People Magazine, McCain Foods and Canada Post to name just a few.  In this episode I chatted with Richard about his interest in producing surreal images, which goes back to the days before the ease of digital and Photoshop.

Street Photography, what is it?  In this episode I’ve asked award winning photographers Tony Fouhse and Justin Wonnacott to join me in a discussion on street photography. As with any good discussion, we did get a little off topic, but it was still relevant and important to not just street photography, but important issues facing photographers today. This episode is not trying to answer what is right and what is wrong, but start a discussion on the topic of street photography. I invite you to enjoy the podcast, then stop by photokibitz.com and join the discussion with your comments on the blog.

From the early days of Rock n’ Roll, icon Bill Haley and the Comets to the music of today with Rihanna, John Rowlands was there to photograph them all.  At an age when most people were happy to be a fan and enjoy concerts from the audience, John Rowlands was juggling the responsibilities of doing his high school homework and photographing the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and most of the other big musical acts on tour at the time. John and I chat about how at the age of 13, Brenda Lee helped start his photographic career. We also talked about one of his iconic shots, The Thin White Duke, David Bowie in his archer pose, a portrait which Bowie has said is one of his favorites.

What separates a snap shot from a fine art photograph which is worthy of hanging in a National Gallery? My guest on this episode of Photo Kibitz is Ann Thomas, Curator of Photography for the National Gallery of Canada. Ann and I chat about the National Gallery’s extensive world class collection of photographs, which starts practically from the beginning of photography and continues to grow with works from today. I also asked Ann how she looks at a photograph, what does she see in them. Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask how can I get my photographs into the National Gallery collection. 

Have you ever considered starting a small business? As glamorous as it might sound, starting a freelance photography business is not easy. Nick Ghattas is this episode’s guest and we chat about his decision to leave the comforts of a steady paycheque for the challenges of being self-employed.

Imagine you have been taking photographs for most of your life and you’ve kept all of your negatives safely stored away. Just as you are quietly passing away in relative obscurity someone comes along and finds all of your images and thinks they are fantastic.  In 2007, while doing research for a book, John Maloof discovers the work of street photographer Vivian Maier. He is now the custodian of over 100,000 of her images.  This episode of Photo Kibitz is dedicated to the book Vivian Maier, Street Photographer. Paul Clark and host Michael Vuckovic chat about the book, the images and discuss if Vivian would even want all of the world wide attention her work is getting.

Have you ever wondered what you are allowed to do with the photographs you take? Do you hope to sell your images? Do you want to publish them in any form – including social media sites like Facebook? For the legal perspective to those questions I chatted with Paul LaBarge, a founding partner of the law firm LaBarge Weinstein.  Paul and I discussed many of the issues photographers should be aware of. For example, when do you need consent from the people you photograph, what are your rights to protect your work and why it is extremely important to have a contract when you are hired for a job.

Have you ever wondered what those guys behind the counter of your favourite camera store are like? My colleagues Dennis Lecuyer and Mark Petrica joined me on this episode of Photo Kibitz. Amongst many topics like movies and music, behind the counter we often chat about photography.  After dinner Mark, Dennis and I chatted about all sorts of things, such as what we like to shoot, street photography, street photography from a legal perspective, music and photographers, and some things which needed to be edited out.  Overall, we had fun and we hope you enjoy this episode too.

Early on Harry Nowell realized following his family into big business wasn’t for him. Instead he chose shooting anything that slid, moved, and rolled for stock photo agencies. Stock photography was lucrative enough for Harry, but as technology changed the way we shoot, it also changed his business model. We chatted about how he has adapted his photography business and why it is very important to pay attention to both the photography side and the business side to be successful. Today, Harry Nowell shoots assignments and is working on a fine art photography project. As a business man, he also owns and operates a gallery, a studio (which is available for rent), and teaches workshops in his studio space as well as various classes outside on-location and he offers unique on-line programs for people that find it hard to find the time for a scheduled class, but still have the urge to learn.

Look up, look way up - Aerial Photographer Louis Helbig Some photographers wish they could shoot from a higher vantage point. Aerial photographer Louis Helbig does. 1000 feet higher - from the cockpit of his airplane.  To some operating the controls of a camera and composing an image could be challenging enough. Not for Louis, we chat about how he manages to juggle the photography side and the flying side of his work. Photography was not Louis’ first calling. He was a competitive athlete and his education would have meant a promising career in foreign service with the government and we discuss what led to his decision to change course and become a fine art photographer.  Louis is passionate about his work and he is equally passionate about using his work as a starting point for an open dialogue.

Ari Tapiero is a self taught photographer who was fortunate enough to have two great mentors guide him early on. They showed him that hard work and perseverance were key to a successful career in this business. Portraits and architecture are two of his favourite subjects. Ari’s current personal project is documentary photography, where he combines both portraits and architecture to tell the story of The Last Jews of Miskolc. We chatted about how he evolved from an education in religion and political science to shooting portraits in Paris of Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone, Glenn Close, Ryan Gosling, and yes, Kevin Bacon. Through out his career, Ari has constantly learned lessons and evolved to become his own voice and work on his own projects. Since Ari and I recorded this interview his involvement in photography has evolved again. He has added product distribution to his bag of tricks and is now the Canadian distributor of FLM, a German tripod and ball head manufacturer.

Jake Morrison has been taking pictures most of his life. Like many photographers, He is often called upon to shoot different types of events; however, landscapes large and small are what really interests him.  The body of Jake's work includes large panoramic vistas of the Yukon and collages of flowers shot in his studio. At first glance the styles look like they were taken by two different photographers, but there is a unifying connection between them, which he explains in the podcast. A natural explorer, Jake’s investigations have included taking classes at the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa School of Art, and the School of photographic Arts (SPAO), he also spends time reading, studying the works of others, like painter/photographer David Hockney, and experimenting with subjects that fascinates him. Since 2006, Jake has been exhibiting his work in solo and group shows primarily in Ottawa and in Toronto.  Jake's passion for photography takes him beyond his own work. He a founding member of FAP:O - Fine Art Photographers : Ottawa. To see more of Jake's work, visit his website: http://www.withflare.org

I would like to say Leslie Hanti's photographic work is serendipitous, but that would imply his work comes by chance or luck. While there is alway an element of luck and chance, it is also Leslie's vision, determination and persistence which allows him to capture his images. As you will hear, Leslie can spend hours, days, weeks and years waiting for all of the elements in an image to come together. Leslie's card reads "Stop-by-Stop Images", because he is almost always with camera in-hand and ready to record the world as he sees it.  Like an onion, you have to peel back the many layers to get to know Leslie Hanti. Over the last few years and I think I've only seen a small fraction of his work. Hopefully soon we will all have an opportunity to see more of his work.